Following the now national trend of protest, youth in Taraba on Thursday took to the streets of Jalingo the state capital to protest against police brutality and a recent hike in tricycle fares.
Leader of the group and leading Comedian in the state Kenneth Jande (MC Kendo) who addressed the youth at the Jalingo trade fair centre said that the youth in Taraba would rather have a thoroughly reformed special unit to address the special security issues rather than a change of nomenclature.
Jande said that the youth were concerned about the recent hike in the tricycle fares and the prices of sachet water as these have direct effect on the ordinary people especially students.
“Today, we join millions of youth across the country to protest against police brutality. This is a very rare occurrence in Taraba state but we can not say because we are not experiencing it here, it does not concern us. We believe that the police as a whole and not just the SARS unit, need an overhaul. There is a need for a total reformation of the force. We also feel there is a need for a well-trained and specialized unit of the force that is sufficiently funded and armed to tackle specific situations such as armed robbery, kidnapping, banditry, and others. This unit should be cut off from regular police routine and should be dedicated to these tasks as it is done in other same clans.
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“We are also saddened by the recent hike in tricycle fares and the prices of sachet water. There are issues that directly affect ordinary people. Most of the youth here are students and we are concerned because schools are reopening. We are all aware of the effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the economies of most families. How do we expect people to cope with these hikes? Life is simply becoming unbearable for the people and it is important that these issues are addressed before even more young people resort to crime as a way of survival.
“We want to use this opportunity to call on the leaders in the state to expediently look into some of these issues in a bid to ameliorate the suffering of the people. We appreciate the efforts of the state government in providing potable water in homes across the state but this is still a process and most people still depend on sachet water for daily consumption. I believe that if the state government can weigh into the challenges faced by the vendors and address them, this hike will be reversed for the greater good of the people” Jande said.
He called on the youth to always stay focused and work for peace and cautioned against anyone trying to highjack the protest for their own selfish reasons or to cause chaos in the state.
BusinessDay recalls that there was a recent hike in tricycle fares and prices of sachet water by almost a hundred percent, triggering widespread protests by the locals.
